| Author |
Message |
decker2006
Member
Joined: 6 Jan 2007
Posts: 222
|
# Posted: 24 Aug 2007 09:45
I am very disappointed. Please tell me the autoresponder system will still be in use. This calling system is no more than telemarketing. Most people want to move AWAY from that business model. Most people don't have the time to spend hours on the phone sifting through these phone calls. How many are there just for the free gift?? The person on the other end of the call knows they want to make money from home and they know they are going to get a free gift. To me this is not a warm lead because you have to start from square one to educate them on Coastal (in my case). Now if this is IN ADDITION to the autoresponder system, then I am all for it as an OPTION.
The autoresponder was terrific. The lead was basically a double opt in, would see the movie, would be automatically placed in your back office and start getting the WCYS autoresponder. You can see who was interested by how many times they checked out your site. THOSE were the people to call first. I can hardly believe FTV is moving away from this because the system was fantastic for people who don't want to be a slave to the phone. This was also a terrific tool for those just starting in the business because it really gives them a jumpstart. For newbies, I am not sure the phone sales thing is an attractive option. Hiring someone to take the calls for you is a neat idea, but let's be realistic. Just think about the reality of that concept.......
Unlimited vouchers are a good thing, for those interested in marketing them, but really it is no sacrifice for FTV to give them away because the more people that book vacations, the more money they make. And they no longer incur the printing costs. For me, this does not make up for lack of autoresponder.
I would urge the FTV folks to reconsider abandoning the autoresponder system altogether - if in fact, that is what the future holds.
Noreen
__________________
|
dawnmo
Member
Joined: 4 Jan 2007
Posts: 169
|
# Posted: 24 Aug 2007 09:51
Agree wholeheartedly with everything you have said, Noreen.
__________________
|
asskusabouttrav
Member
Joined: 6 Jun 2007
Posts: 140
|
# Posted: 24 Aug 2007 10:26
hey Guys
Although this new program poses different situations for everyone.
Good and bad. I have every faith that they will keep both ,the AR and the New program in place. We will have an official announcement by email very shortly and Im sure Funtime will accomodate all of us.
Those of you people from the call centers could surely use the system and perhaps insert a promo code of some sort to identify your people calling in. But it sounds like a great idea.
I cant report any official news at this point but as always I will let you know what I know
As I learn it. And of course watch for an official Email from Dana coming within the next day or two.
Hang in there guys, I have every Faith that we will all be happy with the result.
Sean Keely
Aviva Steele & Sean Keely
Level 3 Directors CV
FTV SE Distributors
Expect Your Success Marketing
__________________
|
dawnmo
Member
Joined: 4 Jan 2007
Posts: 169
|
# Posted: 24 Aug 2007 10:34
Thanks, Sean. I am hopeful that the AR system will remain intact for us.
(I'm still a bit peeved that I paid $300 last month for leads and they never got my system working - and as far as I can tell, never had any intention to get it working despite what they continued to promise me...but that is for another thread.)
__________________
|
ateamfuntimer
Joined: 22 May 2007
Posts: 669
|
# Posted: 24 Aug 2007 12:10
After the call last night I had many of the same concerns you all do. As most of you are part of my team in some way or form losing a group is devastating to my residual income. At this point I have taken a wait and see approach about the A/R until Dana sends the paperwork she talked about. That is the entire reason for me asking the question I asked last night. Having the option of the system having people call you is a good OPTION but doesnt do alot of members any good. Harold comes to mind when I think of this. He works in the day and has a family to spend time with at night. If we have the choice to pick then im happy. If the new program replaces the current system then I will have to rethink my decision on FTV. As I get any info on this new change I will do my best to send it out asap. I know Rusty reads this forum so im sure he see's our concerns. In addition im writing an email to address my concerns as well. Id suggest others do the same. Again I will keep everyone updated to what is going on and after I receive the flyer explaining the new program as Dana promised I will be holding a forum call for us all to talk about it. You can all contact me for details from my signature link. Send me an email asking for the details and I will get back to you.
Adam
__________________
|
ateamfuntimer
Joined: 22 May 2007
Posts: 669
|
# Posted: 24 Aug 2007 12:12
I apologize for being so late in jumping into this conversation but as many of my teammates know I dont work on Fridays and was late getting up. The luxury of working for yourself. I will talk to eveyone soon.
Adam
__________________
|
luvtravel
Member
Joined: 11 Dec 2006
Posts: 800
|
# Posted: 24 Aug 2007 16:25
I heard it thru the gripe vine this whole situation has not been well received.
Terri
__________________
|
dadzathome
Member
Joined: 11 Jun 2007
Posts: 7
|
# Posted: 24 Aug 2007 17:16 · Edited by: dadzathome
Quoting: vernon dillon As you all know I like a great level of communication and that's why I am doing this post so I can answer any questions
This is from less than a month ago 7-25-07 in this thread.
Terri thats an understatement.
This snafu is reminiscent of the way that FTV introduced itself to the members of Coastal. The PR dept leaves alot to be desired. Currently the Autoresponder is not working, again, and the management of FTV thinks that now is the time to introduce a new product. Leaders of FTV are scrambling for answers to give their downlines because the most recent call implied that the AR was soon to be obsolete. Alot of the current members joined ONLY for this feature and in one fell swoop let them know that it might be discontinued. We/I know that management reads as well as posts in this forum as evidenced by the above quote yet with all the confusion they choose to let us wonder about the future over the weekend. Funny that the monthly fee is due soon. I wonder if they wait until after everyone pays for another month before they let us know. Currently Super Elite members pay $299 for the Autoresponder with 40,000 leads (and this might not be around for much longer) and for an additional $89 a month we can have the "New Program". Does that mean the value of the New Program is worth only $89 per month?
I write this in the hopes that management makes a statement to put out the fire that they started with this call on Thur rather than let us create our own scenarios as we are witnessing here.
For the record, when the AR works it is fantastic.
|
wapahm
Member
Joined: 6 Jun 2007
Posts: 187
|
# Posted: 24 Aug 2007 20:49
Quoting: hsimpsonjr Terri, I talked to Jeff about this last night. He asked the same question to me. He asked me why not have the calls go straight to the call center. I explained that these leads are no where near the quality we want calling the call center. They know nothing about the call center itself because they are basically just email bizzop leads. It's good when they take the initiative to hit the 1 button to talk to someone but we want the most qualified lead we can get calling in to the call center and that means someone who already knows the startup costs and these Funtime leads won't even know what company you are with when they hit that button to talk to you.
Harold,
I thought you created your own voice message to use with this system. If this is the case, couldn't you have a message that explained to the prospect that if they pressed 1 and listened to a business opportunity they would recieve a free vacation voucher?
I'm not with WCYS and don't know their system, but if I get to create my own message and could send them to WCYS
__________________
|
wapahm
Member
Joined: 6 Jun 2007
Posts: 187
|
# Posted: 24 Aug 2007 21:01
sorry guys hit enter before I was ready
as I was saying......
if I could create my own message there are ways to prequalify the prospect before they press 1.
If they only want a free vacation have them redirected to another number or give them a phone number to call or an web address where they can pick the vacation cert. they want and be able to give a time for you to call them back to gather their info. for their free vacation.
use one of the FT vouchers and make some money from them either way.
these are thoughts just off the top of my head, but I sure there is a way to make it work if the system is all it is said to be.
good luck to all and I'll keep checking back to see how everything is going
__________________
|
hsimpsonjr
Joined: 16 Dec 2006
Posts: 597
|
# Posted: 24 Aug 2007 22:03
The way I understand it is that you can choose from several messages but you can't create your own message. There is one that will mention travel but it isn't specific to a company. Also, we won't have any way to get our WCYS id number to them to give the sales rep at the call center. It just won't work for us.
__________________
|
wapahm
Member
Joined: 6 Jun 2007
Posts: 187
|
# Posted: 25 Aug 2007 21:58
I was on the FTV web site and found this cert.
. 4 Days/3 Nights Acapulco, Mexico ALL-INCLUSIVE Vacation - Stay at a Romantic Resort where all meals, activities, and beverages are included. Customer pays only $151.00 per Adult plus per night resort taxes of $13.00-$15.00 in Acapulco. Receive a
Guaranteed Airfare Gift Coupon with this package.
Retail Value: $900.00 PK Code: P3CA
can you fly anytime?
are these certificates [b]always[b] available?
are there any restrictions of use?
black out dates?
if I become a member, can I set the retail price?
Thanks
__________________
|
goldmills
Member
Joined: 3 Apr 2007
Posts: 184
|
# Posted: 26 Aug 2007 03:37
Why not use the leads FTV offers with their new phone system, and push them all so that when they call, they call into your 24 hour recorded message.
Then, use the Hyperdialer system I taught everyone in WCYS to use to get the leads who listen to all your message to press 1 to redirect and call transfer into the call center. You tell them the costs, and you tell them your ID # 3 times so if they do want to connect live to a rep at this point, they are qualified.
Jeff
__________________
|
ateamfuntimer
Joined: 22 May 2007
Posts: 669
|
# Posted: 26 Aug 2007 11:09
Hey wapahm,
While FTV has had its problems with their A/R the certs are actually pretty good. Most are booked in house by FTV and therefore have no blackout dates which is a great feature. The trip you are asking about is one such trip. It is 100% resellable, there are no blackout dates and yes you can sell it retail. That is the strength of the program at FTV. I joined FTV for a few reasons. The first was the 40k leads for $299. I was paying much more in the past. But the final deciding factor was the ability to sell individual certs. Many a time ive had a client that didn't want the entire Coastal package as they said they didn't have the $1295 to get started but they still would pay $300- $500 for a single vacation. FTV fills that void for me. While FTV is still having problems with its A/R system and I hope they get it fixed soon I still see it as a viable business option as they provide alot of leads for a decent price as well as letting me use the certs as an incentive to push people to my other programs. In addition I can sell the certs at a profit. Even giving them away has its advantages as I receive a commission on the back end when the customer goes on the trip. I hope that helps out in your questions wapahm and you can contact me if you have any more.
Adam
__________________
|
hsimpsonjr
Joined: 16 Dec 2006
Posts: 597
|
# Posted: 26 Aug 2007 15:51
Jeff,
What you say could be done because they will redirect to any phone number but you will be paying for minutes twice if I understand the system. You will be paying for minutes through the funtime system and then the 800 system too. Now it wouldn't be bad at all if you are making sales so it might be worth a try but I still want my leads to see my site if possible and that is only possible through the Auto Responder.
__________________
|
luvtravel
Member
Joined: 11 Dec 2006
Posts: 800
|
# Posted: 26 Aug 2007 18:08
ADAM!
I noticed one person had a website where she was selling the certs as a vacation and asking $250 or some such amount. She isn't actually validating the vacation cert so is that legal to do??
Do you understand what I am asking? hard to explain, I will see if I can locate the site again.
Terri
__________________
|
ateamfuntimer
Joined: 22 May 2007
Posts: 669
|
# Posted: 26 Aug 2007 18:21
I think I get what you are saying Terri. As a FTV distributor you have the right to market their certs. Just like with Coastal where you can maket the packages. While there are strict guidelines in Coastal as to how much you can market the entire package for in FTV you as the distributor can market the certs at your own prices. That is one of the benefits of the program. For instance I have a FLY AND STAY for 2 people to Vegas that will cost them a total of $265. I can market that vacation for $100/$200/$300/$400 or even $500. The total cost to the customer even if I sell it for $500 would be $765. Now thats for a 3 day 2 night stay with AIRFARE included. I profit $500 and they still get a good deal. Look at FTV as a buffet and Coastal as the combination platter. I can market individual certs at market prices while with Coastal I must sell the entire package. Now we all understand Coastal is a better deal for the customer as they save a bunch more money but how many times have you run across someone that wont spend $1295 but still will spend $700 or $800 to go on one trip. Why should another travel agent make the profit if I can accomodate the prospects request. Plus for people that want to get into Coastal but dont have the $1295 this can become a way they can make the $1295. Thats why I joined FTV in addition to the 40k leads for $299. For me a lead is a lead is a lead. It seems you have been contemplating this a while so id suggest you give me or any of the other FTV members a call and spend about 10-15mins getting all your questions answered so you can make your decision. My door is always open.
Adam
__________________
|
luvtravel
Member
Joined: 11 Dec 2006
Posts: 800
|
# Posted: 26 Aug 2007 22:17
Just curious if it was okay to do somethig like that.
Thanks
Terri
__________________
|
vernon dillon
Member
Joined: 23 Jul 2007
Posts: 61
|
# Posted: 27 Aug 2007 12:30
hi everyone and thanks for all your support. i wanted to tell all of you that we have worked hard all weekend to take care of all the issues you great people are talking about. i remember a saying that goes ......mountains were created so we can all learn how to climb.......boy we have sure learned how to climb........all of our hard work has realy payed off. we have a new auto responder system in place and all of you should start seeing real good results in just a few days. we are in the proccess of loading your systems now. some of you are going to see things happen tomorrow. the new system has a few new benifits....
1. a security back up system
2. no server down time
3.capability of mailing...AOL...and....hotmail
and as an added bonus we are temporarily going to be mailing out 40,000 leads per day as a thank you for your patients.
we expect that everyone will be real happy with the new changes to this system having the ability to mail to 2 of the hottest email companys in the world is not a bad deal. just like any business we have been experiencing our growing pains and it has been an incredable learning curve. being a professional coach in a sport i have seen the best of people and the worst of people. and i am happy to see that you fine folks at least give funtime the benifit of the dough and take a wait and see attitude. sorry for the delay in communicating with you but i wanted to be sure that we had everything in place and working properly. we tested this new system and it works great. hope to here from you all soon . thanks for your time
|
dadzathome
Member
Joined: 11 Jun 2007
Posts: 7
|
# Posted: 29 Aug 2007 08:14
Quoting: vernon dillon sorry for the delay in communicating with you but i wanted to be sure that we had everything in place and working properly. we tested this new system and it works great
Just to keep everyone up to date on the current status of the autoresponder. It is still not functioning properly. If you are to believe that they are sending out 40,000 emails daily and the members are still not receiving traffic to their site THEN IT IS NOT WORKING and they could send out 1,000,000 a day and it still would not do you any good if they do not get to your site. If your attitude is make lemonade out of lemons with these leads you can buy 25,000 leads for $54 at oppseekers and save yourself the headache and money. I have spoken with my downline and they have received not a single opt in since this fiasco started. The wait and see attitude is costing the membership money as this company deals with its teething pains. Getting back to the PR perspective. Given all the problems this company is having and has been having for the past 2 months this system should still be in the BETA TESTING ,before being put on the market to paying customers. Think about it: no backup in place. They have changed that over this past weekend. You would think that management would have thought of that in advance.IF YOU ARE CONSIDERING JOINING FUNTIME DON"T UNTIL THEY FIX THE PROBLEMS. The owners will have you believe that everything is working, ask the members they will tell you it is not. Normally you get what you pay for but with FTV you don't!
On a positive note: WHEN it does start, I will also let you know. I want this to work, WHEN it does it is a great marketing tool.
|
wapahm
Member
Joined: 6 Jun 2007
Posts: 187
|
# Posted: 29 Aug 2007 13:20
dadzathome
your honesty is commendable! 
Quoting: vernon dillon and as an added bonus we are temporarily going to be mailing out 40,000 leads per day as a thank you for your patients.
a real thank you would be to NOT charge their members until the system is working properly.
__________________
|
dawnmo
Member
Joined: 4 Jan 2007
Posts: 169
|
# Posted: 29 Aug 2007 13:26
Hi everyone, just thought I would provide an update on the autoresponder system. As of right now, I have received 8 opt-ins to my WCYS system from the approx. 20,000 emails that were indicated to have been sent.
This is encouraging to me since they are the very first opt-ins I have ever received since signing up over a month ago.
Everything seems to be functioning OK..I did make some minor modifications to the email messages to better reflect the WCYS system.
Feel free to contact me if you would like more details about how the system is working right now.
Dawn
__________________
|
vernon dillon
Member
Joined: 23 Jul 2007
Posts: 61
|
# Posted: 29 Aug 2007 13:29
hi there dadzathome just for my info who are you i dont remember seeing your name before what is your real name . are you with funtime. part of what you are saying is correct and i truly appologize for the auto responder system needing to work. we are working hard to get things back to normal. its easy to be someone sitting in the stands and gossiping about the players on the field that are actualy doing the work. the auto responder is just one of the many tools we provide.you have failed to talk about all the other benifits that funtime has to offer. you mention your down line are they sitting at home depending on there computor. if the only thing they are doing is depending on there auto responder they are not consentrating on a well rounded program. lots of people are signing up for funtime because of all the other great business opportunities that we have so telling people not to join is just plain wrong . please let me know who you are i will personaly call you. all over the internet people are saying that it is getting harded to make money on just your computor . so thats why people all over the world are seeing the light and creating a well rounded business.how many people in your down line are truly making money on the internet. thanks for your time and i hope i here from you soon so i can call you and we can talk .
|
dadzathome
Member
Joined: 11 Jun 2007
Posts: 7
|
# Posted: 29 Aug 2007 14:11
Well,it got your attention. Don't kill the messenger, fix the problem. I am simply pointing out the problem with FTV autoresponder. I am a member of FTV. And to apologize for the auto responder needing to work, maybe something more than an appology is due to the members. We were told that you would be sending out 40,000 emails per day to compensate the members. The post before yours stated that this member only got approx 20,0000 what about the other 20,000. This is a forum where prospective members come for education.Quoting: dawnmo This is encouraging to me since they are the very first opt-ins I have ever received since signing up over a month ago.
This is what your members are saying, they have been with the company for over a month and these are the FIRST optins she is receiving. It is not the fault of this member but she still paid for the service. These problems have been pointed out and there is always an excuse 24-36-48-96 hours. These posts also mention that their are people just like me who joined FTV for only the autoresponder. If it doesn't work it is useless to us. Go back thru this forum and you will see the majority of the comments are specific to the Autoresponder. Can you state for the record that the autoresponder is working for all your members?If the answer is no then Quoting: vernon dillon we are working hard to get things back to normal
directly contradicts this quoteQuoting: vernon dillon we tested this new system and it works great
The point of this post is for information, some of your members are not getting the service that they are paying for and for a new member to get the service mentioned above is just plain wrong to use your words.
If it is still getting worked out then maybe efforts should be made to remedy the problem instead of hunting down the messenger. Also note that on the bottom of each of my messages I have stated that WHEN the Autoresponder works it is a great tool.
With me you get both sides, you may not get the name but you get the point. I am sure we all are looking forward to this issue being resolved.
|
hsimpsonjr
Joined: 16 Dec 2006
Posts: 597
|
# Posted: 29 Aug 2007 15:39
Update from my Autoresponder account,
I have received 5 optins to my WCYS this morning so it appears that things are starting to work.
Now, the major test will be if we keep on getting these over the next couple of days. That is the only problem I have had as far as the Autoresponder is concerned. There has been VERY inconsistant results. Now that the AR has been outsourced to another company maybe it will run smoother becuase it will lightent the load on the programming personel and make their job easier. The AutoResponder is definately 99% of the reason I joined FTV. When it works properly I have received over 30 optins to my WCYS backoffice in a single day. That is AMAZING! So I want this system to work BIG TIME!
Rusty, you mention a well balanced business. I would agree that for people who have an outgoing personality, such as yourself, being able to deal with clients face to face is a HUGE asset. BUT, there are some who simply don't have the time or the personality to do the face to face thing for various reasons. That's why the Autoresponder is such a big deal to us, especially in WCYS. Our call center allows those people who can't or don't want to sell a way to let someone else do the selling for them. I received several good leads from the funtime system and plan on staying if the AR can prove to be consistant over the next 2 or 3 days. These leads get put directly into my WCYS back office which is an invaluable benefit of the AR as long as it is working.
The unlimited travel vouchers are great, too, if you have the time and gumption to go and sell or pass them out to the right places. They are definately more reliable than some of the Coasatl vouchers because they are booked in house and they don't have any blackout dates.
Again, for me, the AutoResponder is the main benefit to having a FTV membership, because it will promote my business on autopilot when it's working the way it's supposed to. And, me, Bill and Noreen, and Dawn will be the first ones to jump up on the roof and scream "JOINT FUNTIME, IT's WORKING FOR US!" When all of these things ger ironed out.
For the record, I'm not "dadzathome". lol
__________________
|
dadzathome
Member
Joined: 11 Jun 2007
Posts: 7
|
# Posted: 29 Aug 2007 16:07
Rusty, we all have our alias' (Vernon) My name is Bill Decker. I have been a member of FTV for 2 full months and have personally called you about the autoresponder situation . You told me that the Auto responder was not your perview it was Glens. We all want the same results, it would appear that the issue , the autoresponder is beginning to function properly. I joined for the Autoresponder along with Harold and we have both been experiencing the same problems and have spoken with Glen directly, repeatedly. We got the same response. This way was sure to get the attention that it deserved and to make people considering the program and using this forum to become educated about it to take a wait and see attitude. If you feel the need to contact me directly you have my number. It is also worth noting that with each post I ended it by saying that when the Autoresponder is working it is teriffic.
Bill
|
ateamfuntimer
Joined: 22 May 2007
Posts: 669
|
# Posted: 29 Aug 2007 17:50
I too have been frustrated with the problems at FTV and the A/R. Many of the people that have posted in this forum are part of my team so if they are unhappy im unhappy as well. I have had numerous talks with Rusty , Dana and Glen and even had a sit down with them yesterday. I hope that they see the problems we are all having and fix them. I have been one of the biggest advocates of FTV as the system and opportunity has great merits. To list a few here they are:
1- 40k leads for $299
2- Residual income
3- Travel vouchers to market at retail
This is why I joined. Each and every reason I mentioned is good enough in itself to be the reason to be in FTV. With a well rounded business all cyclinders should be working and if one doesnt it needs to be fixed asap. As Harold stated very eloquently many people rely on autoresponders. Now they arent always the most reliable method all the time but are still a viable option in running a business. If you have other obligations an A/R can be your best friend. I for one can go out in the public and market vouchers but havent to a great extent yet as I chose to build my residual income by building a team. When you have a team you are guaranteed a monthly residual income and with all the problems I have seen that income dwindle very quickly. My teammates are dropping like flies. I hope that FTV fixes this problem so I can continue to build as opposed to putting out fires left and right. I have been patient and have given FTV the benefit of the doubt but like everyone else my patience is running thin.
As I am always one to be vocal when the problem is fixed I will gladly come out and express that as adamantly as I always do.
Adam Frederick
Super Elite Distributor
Team Leader
__________________
|
hsimpsonjr
Joined: 16 Dec 2006
Posts: 597
|
# Posted: 30 Aug 2007 23:13
OK, folks, I always said that if Funtime was working I would be the first to let everyone know. Well, as of 11pm on Aug. 30 I have received 72....scratch that, another one just came in, 73 opt ins to my WeCloseYourSales back office in just one day! This is individual opt ins not counting the people who clicked the link multiple times. Now, I know this is extraordinary and I don't look for this to stay this way but this many people responding to my specific message, which I changed to meet my needs, is just AMAZING. If things can keep working like this then I will be happy. The move to "Maxsponder" was a smart move, guys. Let's just keep things moving smoothly and I will have my whole team on this program.
__________________
|
decker2006
Member
Joined: 6 Jan 2007
Posts: 222
|
# Posted: 31 Aug 2007 08:38 · Edited by: decker2006
I second that. But I ONLY got 43 optins. Not bad for one day!! I have also noticed that may people click through 4-5 times which is a very good sign. Harold has the right idea by changing his message. We are going to do that today to really target leads so we know what they are even more qualified when they click thru.
Between this and Contact Talk, I am really excited about the direction our business is taking. This combination is really attractive to people just starting out with Coastal because they will immediately get traffic in to their site. I think this will be a big motivator for those who get frustrated in the begining because they are not getting a healthy response from PPC or classifieds. Don't get me wrong, I am still doing PPC but with FTV, you are getting immediate action. I think that is something new people are looking for - to get their business off to a quick start.
So far so good. Stay tuned for more information!
__________________
|
dawnmo
Member
Joined: 4 Jan 2007
Posts: 169
|
# Posted: 31 Aug 2007 08:51
Hey...I only got 26...
__________________
|
